The American Medical Association is now interested in researching the medical potential of cannabis sativa and wants the feds to relax anti-marijuana laws, which would open the door to clinical studies.

The AMA’s policy is not a ringing endorsement of legalizing marijuana. Nor is it a thumbs up to the world of nonprofit marijuana collectives that sprouted up in California to provide smokable and edible marijuana to patients whose doctors recommend marijuana-based remedies.

But at the very least, the development signals that the U.S. medical establishment is willing to consider the possibility that marijuana is not, in the words of an old movie title, “weed from the devil’s garden.”

“Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used by the nation’s youth and young adults. However, the fact that cannabis is prone to nonmedical uses does not obviate its potential for medical product development,” reads a report from the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health.

That report was presented to the AMA before its members on Tuesday adopted a carefully worded resolution calling for the government to review marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule 1 controlled substance in order facilitate study and development of cannabinoid-based medicines.

The resolution went on to declare the AMA is not endorsing any state’s medical marijuana laws, not calling for marijuana legalization nor asserting available scientific evidence is rigorous enough to support use of cannabis as a prescription drug.

But the medical establishment’s going on record that the cannabis sativa plant has potential as a source of medicine was enough to generate enthusiasm from at least one medical marijuana advocate.

“That’s really terrific news,” said Jan Werner, operator of a Bloomington medical marijuana collective. “I’ll tell you this country has really been so suppressive as far as anybody being able to do some research on it.”

Paul Chabot, founder of the Coalition for a Drug Free California, opposes marijuana collectives but said he is not alarmed by the AMA’s move.

“We don’t have too much of a concern in the AMA’s wanting to research any benefits that come from THC. There’s already Marinol, which is approved by the FDA,” Chabot said.

“Our concern has always been with smoked marijuana,” he added.

In California, medicinal cannabis is presently smoked – or baked into brownies and other edibles – in a legal gray area despite the fact that the ballot measure that opened the door to medical marijuana passed 13 years ago.

State law allows nonprofit collectives to distribute medical marijuana, but some authorities regard dispensaries as barely disguised weed stores that sell THC-filled products to recreational users with marginal health problems.

This is the official viewpoint of the California Police Chiefs Association, and city officials in places such as San Bernardino and Rialto have followed law enforcers’ advice to ban cannabis dispensaries.

The federal Controlled Substances Act’s designation of marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance means that officially, marijuana is considered to be as illegal and medically useless as heroin or LSD.

The conflict between federal law and California’s medical marijuana law is often cited as a reason to ban dispensaries in the state.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, however, in October ordered federal prosecutors not to pursue marijuana-related cases against people whose marijuana use is in compliance with their own states’ laws.

Medical marijuana advocates contend that cannabis use can aid patients suffering from a broad array of disorders including glaucoma, chronic pain and the loss of appetite that follows chemotherapy.

The AMA Council on Science and Public Health report, which does not represent the medical organization’s official position, observes that limited clinical evidence on the effects of smoked marijuana shows that marijuana can improve appetite, reduce nerve pain and aid patients dealing with multiple sclerosis.

The report noted that there are “substantially better alternatives” for glaucoma and chemotherapy patients.

Andrew Edwards is part of the Southern California News Group's business team and focuses on housing stories for the Inland Empire. He's based at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and has also worked for publications including the Long Beach Press-Telegram and The San Bernardino Sun. He graduated from UCLA in 2003 after studying political science and history.